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How some people scoffed when Nokia announced it was ditching Symbian in favour of Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. Nokia and Microsoft? They’re both washed up, right? Surely the Finnish phone firm should have got on board with Android?
Well Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop has explained his reasoning. It turns out he was scared Samsung would come to dominate Android, making it hard for others to compete. And it looks like he could be proved right.
Speaking at the launch of the snazzy new Lumia 1020, Elop told the Guardian he’s very happy with the choice he made. “What we were worried about a couple of years ago was the very high risk that one hardware manufacturer could come to dominate Android,” he said. “We had a suspicion of who it might be, because of the resources available, the vertical integration, and we were respectful of the fact that were quite late in making that decision. Many others were in that space already.”
In case there was any doubt, he went on to name Samsung as the company in question. And Nokia isn’t the only one worried about Samsung’s dominance — The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that Google execs were in a tizzy over the South Korean company’s heft. It bought Motorola to try and quell Samsung’s dominance of Android.
Networks want an alternative to Samsung and Android, Elop said, to make sure they’re offering the best possible range of devices. Hence Nokia sided with Microsoft.
He went on to say that although it was tough, “it was the right decision. You look at a number of other Android providers right now and they’re in a tough spot.”
HTC, I think he means you.
Was Nokia right to back Windows Phone? Is Samsung too big for its own good? And what do you think of the Lumia 1020? Let me know in the comments, or on Facebook.
